Multiple clock signal generation from a common oscillator

ABSTRACT

A system and method of providing a clock signal to a navigation satellite receiver in a device is disclosed. A clock signal generated by a voltage controlled temperature compensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO) in a cellular engine of the same device is appropriated to clock a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) programmed to generate an adjusted clock signal suitable for use in receiving signals from navigation satellites and to heterodyne them down to baseband or an intermediate frequency for processing. Preferably, if the cellular engine has an automatic frequency control (AFC) module for adjusting the voltage control input to the VCTCXO to compensate for a change in the operating environment of the cellular engine, the AFC module modifies the control word in the NCO to counteract such adjustment so that the adjusted clock signal provided to the navigation satellite receiver is not unduly impacted. The use of the NCO ensures that the adjusted clock signal remains phase continuous throughout any such adjustments, so that positional lock of the navigation satellite receiver should not be lost. The sharing of the VCTCXO by the cellular engine and the navigation satellite receiver results in component cost and board space savings, economy in power consumption and reduced engineering effort in routing clock signals throughout the circuit board.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Not Applicable.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to clock oscillators and, moreparticularly, to a method and circuit for generating a plurality ofclock signals from a common crystal source.

BACKGROUND

Many modern wireless handheld communications devices, whether cellulartelephone handsets or personal digital assistants (PDAs) are equippedwith ancillary features.

One such feature that is gaining popularity is a GPS receiver wherebythe present location of the handset of the PDA may be established towithin a precision of a few to a few hundred feet and by which a precisemap of the immediate vicinity and/or directions from such presentlocation to a desired destination may be provided.

Such GPS receiver circuits typically make use of a fixed, free runningcrystal oscillator (XO) or temperature compensated crystal oscillator(TCXO) to generate a local clock to control its operation and to permitsynchronization with a plurality of geosynchronous satellites formingpart of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Typically, wireless handheld communications devices also employ acrystal oscillator to clock and control the cellular radio circuitry andto permit communications with a cellular base station.

Accordingly, as board space and component cost of such devices isgenerally at a premium, it is desirable to provide a novel and improvedcircuit and method for implementing a plurality of clock circuits from acommon crystal oscillator.

It is further desirable to provide a multiple clock circuit that has areduced component count and board footprint.

It is still further desirable to provide a multiple clock event from acommon crystal oscillator that may be used in a navigation satellitereceiver, which is relatively impervious to adjustments to a voltagecontrol input of the oscillator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the present application will now be described byreference to the following figures, in which identical referencenumerals in different figures indicate identical elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a graphical representation of a front view of an example of amobile communications device to which example embodiments may beapplied;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of the example device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a communications environmentsuitable for the example device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplified example block diagram of the WAN communicationssubsystem and the GPS receiver subsystem for the example device of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a numerically controlledoscillator suitable for use in the example block diagram of FIG. 4;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure accomplishes the foregoing by providing anadditional numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) in the GPS circuitryto clock the GPS circuitry from a voltage controlled temperaturecompensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO) that is present in the handhelddevice to provide a clock signal for the cellular communicationscircuitry. The NCO may generate any of a number of multiple outputfrequencies from a single input frequency provided by the VCTCXO in aphase continuous fashion.

By monitoring frequency PPM (parts per million) clock error hits of thecellular communications circuitry, the value of a phase incrementregister of the NCO may be positively or negatively adjusted tocompensate therefor and to ensure a relatively constant phase continuousoutput frequency for use by the GPS circuitry.

Conventional GPS circuits currently make use of a plurality of NCOs sothat the addition of another, which amounts to a passive devicecomprising a few gates and an adder, will not add significantly to thecost of such devices or occupy a significant amount of board space,especially in comparison to the conventional free-running clock circuitwith associated crystal that it effectively replaces. Furthermore,overall power consumption and start-up latency would be reduced and thetask of routing clocking signals around the board to minimizeinterference would be considerably simplified.

Preferably, the additional NCO would be implemented within the GPScircuitry and adapted to be connected to and driven by the existingVCTCXO of the cellular circuitry of the wireless handheld device.

According to a first broad aspect of an embodiment of the presentapplication there is disclosed a system for providing a clock signal toa navigation satellite receiver in a device comprising a heterodyningcommunications receiver, the system comprising: a voltage controlledoscillator for generating an output clock signal having a frequencysuitable for use by the heterodyning communications receiver; and anumerically controlled oscillator (NCO) for generating, from the outputclock signal, an adjusted output clock signal having a frequencysuitable for use by the navigation satellite receiver.

According to a second broad aspect of an embodiment of the presentapplication, there is disclosed a method for providing a clock signal toa navigation satellite receiver in a device comprising a heterodyningcommunications receiver and a voltage controlled oscillator, the methodcomprising: the voltage controlled oscillator generating an output clocksignal having a frequency suitable for use by the heterodyningcommunications receiver; and a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO)generating, from the output clock signal, an adjusted output clocksignal having a frequency suitable for use by the navigation satellitereceiver.

According to a third broad aspect of an embodiment of the presentapplication, there is disclosed a numerically controlled oscillator(NCO) coupled to a navigation satellite receiver in a device comprisinga heterodyning communications receiver and a voltage controlledoscillator for generating an output clock signal having a frequencysuitable for use by the heterodyning communications receiver, the NCOfor generating, from the output clock signal, an adjusted output clocksignal having a frequency for use by the navigation satellite receiver.

The present disclosure will now be described for the purposes ofillustration only, in conjunction with certain embodiments shown in theenclosed drawings.

The Communications Device

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a graphical representation of afront view of an example of an electronic communications device 100 towhich example embodiments described herein can be applied. Thecommunications device 100 is a two-way mobile communications devicehaving electronic messaging communications capabilities and possiblyalso voice communications capabilities. Depending on the functionalityprovided by the communications device 100, in various embodiments thecommunications device 100 may be a data communications device, amultiple-mode communications device configured for both data and voicecommunication, a mobile telephone, a PDA enabled for wirelesscommunications, a computer system with a wireless modem or wirelessnetwork card, or a computer or phone device with a fixed connection to anetwork, among other things. The communications device 100 is, in atleast one example embodiment, a handheld device having a casing orhousing that is dimensioned to fit into a purse, pocket or belt-mounteddevice holster.

The communications device 100 includes a display screen 110, analphanumeric keyboard or keypad 120, optionally one or more non-keyboardinputs, such as buttons 121-128 and/or a rotatable input device such asa trackball 130 or scrollwheel (not shown) and a speaker 140. In someexample embodiments keys in the keyboard 120 may contain one or moreletters aligned in a QWERTY layout. In some embodiments the keys in thekeyboard 120 may not be actual physical keys but may be virtual keysdisplayed on a touch screen display. In some example embodiments, thekeyboard 120 includes a QWERTZ layout, an AZERTY layout, a Dvoraklayout, or the like. In some example embodiments, the keyboard 120layout has reduced keys, such as a reduced QWERTY layout.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the communications device 100 includes acontroller that includes at least one microprocessor 210 for controllingthe overall operation of the device 100. The microprocessor 210interacts with a communications subsystem shown generally at 220 andwith further device subsystems such as display 110, keyboard or keypad120, one or more auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems or devices 233(e.g. trackball 130, non-keyboard inputs 121-128 or a scrollwheel (notshown)), a speaker 140, a microphone 235, a serial port 236, a flashmemory 240, random access memory (RAM) 250, a global positioning system(GPS) receiver subsystem 260, and any other device subsystems generallydesignated as 270.

The microprocessor 210 operates under stored program control of theoperating system software and/or firmware 241 and various softwareand/or firmware applications 249 used by the microprocessor 210, whichare, in one example embodiment, stored in a persistent store such asflash memory 240 or similar storage element. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the operating system 241, software applicationsshown generally at 249, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded intoa volatile store such as RAM 250.

The microprocessor 210, in addition to its operating system functions,in example embodiments, enables execution of software applications 249for interacting with the various device subsystems of the device 100. Apredetermined set of software applications 249, which control basicdevice operations, including data and voice communication applications,such as a browser module 242, a telephone module 243, an address bookmodule 244, an electronic messaging module 245 (which may includee-mail, SMS messaging and/or PIN messaging) and a calendar module 246,for example, will normally be installed on the communications device 100during manufacture. Further software applications 249, such as aGPS/mapping module 247, may also be loaded onto the communicationsdevice 100 during manufacture, or through the communications subsystem220, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 233, serial port 236, or any othersuitable subsystem 270, and installed in the RAM 250 or a non-volatilestore such as the flash memory 240 for execution by the microprocessor210. Such flexibility in application installation increases thefunctionality of the device 100 and may provide enhanced on-devicefunctions, communication-related functions, or both. In someembodiments, some or part of the functionality of the functional modulescan be implemented through firmware or hardware components instead of,or in combination with, computer software instructions executed by themicroprocessor 210 (or other processors).

Under instructions from various software applications 249 resident onthe communications device 100, the microprocessor 210 is configured toimplement various functional components or modules, for interacting withthe various devices subsystems of the device 100.

The web browser module 242 permits access to a specified web address,for example via data transfer over one or more of the communicationssubsystem 220 components.

The telephone module 243 enables the communications device 100 totransmit and receive voice and/or data over one or more of thecommunications subsystem 220 components.

The address book module 244 enables address book information, such astelephone numbers, email and/or instant text messaging addresses and/orPIN numbers to be stored and accessed on the communications device 100.

The electronic messaging module 245 enables the communications device100 to send and receive electronic messages over one or more of thecommunications subsystems 220 components. Examples of electronicmessaging include email, personal identification number (PIN) messagingand/or short message service (SMS) messaging.

The calendar module 246 enables appointment and/or task information tobe stored and accessed on the communications device 100.

The GPS/mapping module 247 enables storage, access and/or retrieval ofdetailed mapping information on the communications device 100 and mayprovide turn-by-turn directions from an initial map position to adesired destination map position in accordance therewith.

Referring briefly to FIG. 1 again there is shown an example of handheldcommunications device 100 on which a plurality of user selectable iconsare shown on its display screen 110. The icons are each associated withfunctions that can be performed by the communications device 100. Forexample, FIG. 1 shows a browser icon 152 for accessing web browsingfunctions (associated with browser module 242), a phone icon 153 foraccessing phone functionality (associated with telephone module 243), anaddress book icon 154 for accessing address book functions (associatedwith address book module 242), a messages icon 155 for accessingelectronic messaging functions of the communications device 100(associated with electronic messaging module 245), a calendar icon 156for accessing calendar functions (associated with calendar module 246),a maps icon 157 for accessing GPS/mapping functions (associated withGPS/mapping module 247), and an options icon 159 (associated with anoptions module, which may be a separate module or executed by one ormore existing modules). An icon is shown highlighted or focused by acaret or selection symbol 160 which can be navigated by a device useramong the displayed icons through manipulation of the trackball 130 (orother navigational input device). The trackball 130 is also depressible,such that depression of the trackball 130 when an icon is highlighted orfocused by selection symbol 160 results in the launch of functions ofthe associated module.

In FIG. 2, each of the software applications 249 may include layoutinformation defining the placement of particular fields, such as textfields, input fields, etc., in a user interface for the softwareapplication 249.

The communications subsystem 220 acts as an interface between thecommunications device 100 and a communications environment 300 shown inFIG. 3. As will be apparent to those skilled in the field ofcommunications, the particular configuration of the communicationssubsystem 220 will be dependent upon the communications network(s) inthe communications environment 300 in which the communications device100 is intended to operate.

In FIG. 3, the communications environment 300 is shown to include one ormore mobile electronic devices 100 (only one of which is shown in FIG.3), a wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) 310 and associated base station311, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) 320, and/or other interfaces.In some example embodiments, the communications device 100 is configuredto communicate in both data and voice modes over both WAN and WLANnetworks and to roam between such networks.

Thus, in the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the communicationssubsystem 220 includes a WAN communications module 221, a WLANcommunications module 222 and a short range communications module 223.

The WAN communications module 221 is for two-way communications with theWAN 310 and the WLAN communications module 222 is for two-waycommunications with the WLAN 320 along an access point 321 associatedtherewith. Both the WAN communications module 221 and the WLANcommunications module 222 operate at radio frequency (RF). For example,if the WAN communications module 221 complies with the Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) wireless standard, it operates at one ormore of 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz or 1900 MHz.

Accordingly, typically, they each comprise front ends having RFantennas, amplifiers, RF transceivers and some signal processingcapabilities, implemented, for example, by a digital signal processor.

Salient portions of an example embodiment of the front end of a receivepath of the WAN communications module 221 (shown in dashed outline) areshown in FIG. 4, including a voltage controlled TCXO (VCTCXO) 400, aphase locked loop (PLL) or synthesizer or frequency multiplier circuit405 (shown in dashed outline), an RF antenna 445, a first bandpassfilter 450, a WAN RF mixer 455 and a second bandpass filter 465. Theremainder of the cellular engine of the WAN communications module 221 isshown as block 465 and comprises an automatic frequency control module466.

The VCTCXO 400 typically comprises a crystal oscillator circuitconnected to a crystal (not shown). The crystal generates piezoelectricimpulses that are forwarded to the crystal oscillator circuit. Theoscillator circuit makes use of high-Q resonance of the piezoelectriceffect from the crystal and generates a periodic signal that istypically free-running around a specific nominal frequency, which maybe, in an example GSM embodiment, 26 MHz, that it forwards to the PLL405 along signal line 401. Due to factors such as temperature, voltage,loading, aging and manufacturing variations, the actual frequency is nottypically exactly equal to the nominal frequency. Thus, compensationcomponents (not shown) are added to enhance the temperature stability ofthe basic oscillator to improve performance.

The crystal is typically one of the more expensive components of thecellular engine, costing on the order of $1.50-$2.00 each.

The PLL 405 may itself comprise, in an example embodiment, a divide by Pblock 410, a phase detector 415, a low pass filter 420, an amplifier425, a voltage controlled oscillator 430 and a divide by Q block 435.

The divide by P block 410 divides the nominal frequency of the inputoscillator signal generated by the VCTCXO 400 and received along signalline 401 down by an integer value P and forwards it to the phasedetector 415 along signal line 411.

The phase detector 415 generates a difference signal between the divideddown oscillator reference signal along signal line 411 and a feedbacksignal 436 generated by the divide by Q block 435. The difference signalis forwarded to the low pass filter 420 along signal line 416.

The low pass filter 420 acts as a loop filter and removes any highfrequency noise artifacts from the difference signal arriving alongsignal line 416 and forwards it to the amplifier 425 along signal line421.

The amplifier 425 amplifies the filtered difference signal arrivingalong signal line 421 and forwards it to the VCO 430 as a voltagecontrol signal along signal line 426. The amount of amplification ischosen to derive an appropriate output frequency for the VCO 430.

The VCO 430 generates a clock signal that it forwards along signal line431 to the WAN mixer 455 and the divide by Q block 435 in response tothe input therein of the suitably amplified and filtered differencesignal arriving along signal line 426. Advantageously, the clock signalfrequency may be appropriate to heterodyne WAN signals down to basebandor IF for processing by the rest of the cellular engine 465.

The divide by Q block 435 provides a feedback path for the clock signalarriving along signal line 431. It divides the frequency of the signalby an integer value Q, which generally corresponds to the amount offrequency multiplication effected by the amplification of the voltagecontrol signal 426 from the amplifier 425 before being input to the VCO430, and forwards it to a second input of the phase detector 415 alongsignal line 436.

The remainder of the front end circuitry of the receiver portion of theWAN communications module 221 is largely conventional. The RF antenna445 receives and transmits RF signals and forwards the received signalsalong signal line 446 to the first bandpass filter 450.

The first bandpass filter 450 filters out of band signals from thereceived signal arriving along signal line 446 and forwards them to theWAN mixer 455 along signal line 451.

The WAN mixer 455 heterodynes the filtered received signal arrivingalong signal line 451 with the clock signal arriving along signal line431. The clock signal has a frequency chosen to bring the data contentof the filtered received signal down to baseband or to an intermediatefrequency. The baseband or IF signal is forwarded to the second bandpassfilter 460 along signal line 456.

The second bandpass filter 460 further filters the baseband or IF signal(to eradicate any undesirable sidelobes arising from the heterodyningoperation) and forwards the resulting signal to the rest of the cellularengine (denoted 465) of WAN communications module 221 along signal line461 for processing in conventional fashion.

The rest of the cellular engine 465 is also largely conventional. In thepresent application, it contains an automatic frequency control (AFC)module 466. The AFC module 466 acts as a frequency lock loop system thatis clocked at twice the speed of the basic cellular clock tick. In anexample GSM embodiment, the basic tick will be 4.6 ms. The AFC module466 keeps track of the reference base station frequency timing andimplements any appropriate frequency corrections through adjusting thevoltage control signal output by the DAC 469 that drives the VCTCXO 400.

Each time a transmission takes place, a frequency error between theVCTCXO 400 and the reference frequency of the base station is estimatedby the AFC module 466, along with a quality factor. The frequency erroris integrated and compared against a threshold dead zone, which may be,in a GSM environment, ±25 Hz. If the integrated frequency error exceedsthe threshold dead zone, a correction is applied to the VCTCXO.Typically, corrections will be made between a minimum (say 10) and amaximum (say 1000) number of frequency error samples.

The number of frequency error samples per frame depends upon thecommunications scheme and the type of frame. For example, in the GSMsystem, which contains 8 time slots, a phone call frame will onlygenerate a single frequency error measurement together with its qualitymetric per frame transmission. On the other hand, in a packet data mode,up to 4 frequency error measurements together with their correspondingquality metrics will be conducted per frame transmission.

Theoretically, once signal lock has been achieved, the frequency andphase of the two signals should closely approximate one another.

With good weather, short sightlines and a stationary device 100, it islikely that any frequency and/or phase differences between the signalwill be minimal. However, when such optimal conditions are not allpresent, especially when the device 100 is moving quickly, the frequencyand phase correspondence between the signals may degrade significantlyand rapidly. The problem may be particularly acute when the device 100is handed over from one base station 311 to another. While the basestations are supposed to be synchronized in frequency, it has beenobserved in GSM base stations that a frequency disparity of as much to100 Hz may be present between adjacent base stations 311. In suchcircumstances, for example, when the degradation exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, the AFC module 466 may provide a digital word as a “kick”along signal line 467 to a digital to analog converter (DAC) 469 that isconverted into a voltage signal 464. The voltage signal 464 is fed tothe voltage control input of the VCTCXO 400.

The AFC module 466 also generates a digital word along signal line 468as a counter-“kick” to a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) 490that replaces a clock oscillator circuit for clocking the GPS receiver266.

Typically, the AFC module 466 will operate a plurality of AFC frequencylock loops. In addition to the loop described above to maintainfrequency synchronization between the device 100 and the currentlyassociated base station 311, there may be an additional loop to maintainfrequency synchronization between the device 100 and a neighbouring basestation (not shown) against the possibility of a handover of the device100 between base stations. In this manner, an appropriate “kick” may beapplied at time of handover to compensate for frequency handover error.Anecdotal tests in a local market suggest that the frequency handovererror between a pair of GSM base stations is less than about 4 kHz,which can be handled by the described implementation.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the short-range communications subsystem 223may provide for communication between the communications device 100 anddifferent systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similardevices. For example, the short-range communications module 223 mayinclude an infrared device and associated circuits and components and/ora Bluetooth™ communications module to provide for communication withsimilarly enabled systems and devices.

In a data communications mode, a received signal such as a text messageor web page download will be processed by the communications subsystem220 and output to the microprocessor 210, which further processes thereceived signal for output to the display 231, or alternatively to anauxiliary I/O device 233.

The keyboard 120 and other various input devices, including, anauxiliary I/O device 223 (such as the buttons 121-128 and the trackball130) and/or the microphone 235 on the communications device 100 may alsobe used to compose data items within the software applications 249, suchas email messages or voice communications, in conjunction with thedisplay 110, possibly an auxiliary I/O device and/or the speaker 140.Such composed items and/or voice communications may then be transmittedand received over a communications network in the communicationsenvironment 300 through the communications subsystem 220.

The serial port 236 comprises a USB-type interface port for interfacingor synchronizing with another device, such as a desktop computer (notshown). The serial port 236 is used to set preferences through anexternal device or software application. The serial port 236 may also beused to extend the capabilities of the communications device 100 byproviding for information or software downloads, including userinterface information, to the communications device 100.

The flash memory 240 or other persistent storage of the communicationsdevice 100 may house, in addition to software and/or firmware storedprogram instructions, certain information including address bookinformation such as telephone numbers, email and/or instant textmessaging addresses and PIN numbers. Such information may also be atleast partially stored at least some of the time in memory of aSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) card (not shown) used with thecommunications device 100, in volatile device memory (such as the RAM250), and/or at a location accessible to the communications device 100over the WAN 310.

Additionally, the flash memory 240 may be used to store data structures,preferences and/or parameters.

The RAM 250, which may constitute non-volatile or volatile memory, withor without battery backup, may be used as a supplement to, or in placeof, flash memory 240, and to maintain data and/or program instructionsfor use by the microprocessor 210 in executing one or more of thefunctions of operating system 241 and/or the software applications 249,including but not limited to the GPS/mapping module 247.

The GPS receiver subsystem 260 may comprise an antenna 261, an amplifier262 and a GPS receiver 266. Those having ordinary skill in this art willreadily appreciate that while the American Global Positioning System(GPS) is referenced throughout, methods and apparatus described in thisapplication may equally be used in conjunction with other types ofglobal or regional navigation satellite systems, including but notlimited to the European Galileo, Russian GLONASS, and Chinese BeidouCompass systems.

The antenna 261 is a passive receive-only antenna and is connected tothe amplifier 262.

The amplifier 262, which may be a low noise amplifier (LNA), isconnected to the antenna 261 and to the GPS receiver 266. It amplifieshigh-frequency low power signals received from the GPS satellites 390 asdiscussed below, amplifies them and forwards them to the GPS receiver266 along signal line 263.

The GPS receiver 266 is a modified GPS or A-GPS receiver navigationplatform, such as the GSC3 LTi GPS chip manufactured by SiRF Technology,Inc.

Salient portions of an example embodiment of the front end of the GPSreceiver 266 are also shown in FIG. 4, including NCO 490, a phase lockedloop 407, a first bandpass filter 470, a GPS mixer 475 and a secondbandpass filter 480. The remainder of the GPS receiver 266 is shown asblock 485.

The NCO 490 accepts as input the free-running periodic signal alongsignal line 401 from the VCTCXO 400, as well as a counter-“kick” digitalword along signal line 468 from the AFC module 465.

An NCO 490 is a passive device that is able to generate a frequency andphase-tunable output signal from a fixed-frequency precision clocksource. As shown in the representative simplified block diagram of anNCO 490 in FIG. 5, the NCO 490 comprises an adder 510, a shift register520, a lookup table 530 and a DAC 540.

The adder 510 accepts two signal lines as inputs. The first signal line502 is a data bus of typically between 24 and 48 bits emanating from acontrol or tuning word register 501. The second signal line 521 is adata bus of length n of typically between 14 and 16 bits emanating froman output of the shift register 520. The adder 510 successivelyincrements the output of the shift register 520 with the value of thecontrol word (M) 501.

The control word M 501 may be selectively amended by the AFC module 466by submission of a different value along signal line 468.

The shift register 520 accepts as input an n-bit data bus 511 from theoutput of the adder 510 and shifts it out to its output signal line 521,which is a data bus of length n, in response to an input clock signal offrequency f_(ref) 401. Collectively, the adder 510 and the shiftregister 520 act as a phase accumulator that increments the storednumber each time it receives a clock pulse. The stored number representsa phase of an output clock signal. Thus, the value of the control word M501 will determine the phase step size of the output clock signal, witha higher frequency being associated with a larger control word value.Thus, the control word M defines the frequency tuning resolution of theNCO 490.

The lookup table 530 acts as a phase to amplitude converter and outputsa digital word along data bus signal line 531 representative of theamplitude of the output clock signal associated with a given phase valueas represented by the output signal 521.

The DAC 540 converts the digital word input to it along data bus signalline 531 into an analog voltage level that constitutes the output clocksignal that it outputs along clock signal 491.

The relationship between the output frequency f_(out) and the referenceclock frequency f_(ref) is set out as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{f_{out} = {\frac{M}{2n}*f_{ref}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where M is the value of the tuning word 501;

f_(ref) is the frequency of the input clock signal 522; and

n is the number of bits in data bus 521.

The value of the control word M 501 may be adjusted at any time to varythe frequency of the output oscillator signal 491. The design of the NCO490 ensures that such frequency changes are phase continuous.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the NCO 490 alters the frequency output by theVCTCXO 400, which is suitable to clock the WAN communications subsystem221, along signal line 401 to a frequency suitable to clock the GPSreceiver 266 and outputs it along signal line 491.

The PLL 407 may itself comprise, in an example embodiment, a divide by Rblock 412, a phase detector 417, a low pass filter 422, an amplifier427, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 432 and a divide by S block437.

The divide by R block 412 divides the nominal frequency of the inputoscillator signal generated by the NCO 490 and received along signalline 491 down by an integer value R and forwards it to the phasedetector 417 along signal line 413.

The phase detector 417 generates a difference signal between the divideddown oscillator reference signal along signal line 413 and a feedbacksignal 438 generated by the divide by S block 437. The difference signalis forwarded to the low pass filter 422 along signal line 418.

The low pass filter 422 acts as a loop filter and removes any highfrequency noise artifacts from the difference signal arriving alongsignal line 418 and forwards it to the amplifier 427 along signal line423.

The amplifier 427 amplifies the filtered difference signal arrivingalong signal line 423 and forwards it to the VCO 432 as a voltagecontrol signal along signal line 428. The amount of amplification ischosen to derive an appropriate output frequency for the VCO 432.

The VCO 432 generates a clock signal that it forwards along signal line433 to the GPS mixer 475 and the divide by S block 437 in response tothe input therein of the suitably amplified and filtered differencesignal arriving along signal line 426. Advantageously, the clock signalfrequency may be appropriate to heterodyne GPS signals down to basebandor IF for processing by the rest of the GPS engine 485.

The divide by S block 437 provides a feedback path for the clock signalarriving along signal line 433. It divides the frequency of the signalby an integer value S, which generally corresponds to the amount offrequency multiplication effected by the amplification of the voltagecontrol signal 428 by the amplifier 427 before being input to the VCO432, and forwards it to a second input of the phase detector 417 alongsignal line 438.

The remainder of the front end circuitry of the receiver portion of theGPS receiver 266 is largely conventional. The GPS antenna 261 receivesRF signals which may be optionally amplified by amplifier 262 andforwards the received signals to the first bandpass filter 450 alongsignal line 263.

The first bandpass filter 470 filters out of band signals from the GPSsignals arriving along signal line 263 and forwards them to the GPSmixer 475 along signal line 471.

The GPS mixer 475 heterodynes the filtered received signal arrivingalong signal line 471 with the clock signal arriving along signal line433. The clock signal has a frequency chosen to bring the data contentof the filtered received GPS signal down to baseband or to anintermediate frequency. The baseband or IF signal is forwarded to thesecond bandpass filter 480 along signal line 476.

The second bandpass filter 480 further filters the baseband or IF signal(to eradicate undesirable sidelobes arising from the heterodyningoperation) and forwards the resulting signal to the rest of the GPSengine 485 of GPS receiver 266 along signal line 481 for processing inconventional fashion.

The rest of the GPS engine 485 is entirely conventional. Typically, itcontains circuitry to determine an appropriate frequency offset to beapplied to the GPS clock signal 476, by which satellite messagetransmissions from the navigation satellites 390 may be received and alocation of the GPS receiver 266 may be accurately determined.

The Communications Environment

Turning now to FIG. 3, the WAN 310 may be implemented as a packet-basedcellular network that includes a number of base stations 311 (only oneof which is shown), where each of the base stations 311 provideswireless Radio Frequency (RF) coverage to a corresponding area or cell.The wireless WAN 310 is typically operated by a cellular network serviceprovider that sells subscription packages to users of mobile electronicdevices. The WAN 310 comprises a number of different types of networks,for example, Mobitex Radio Network, DataTAC, GSM, GPRS (General PacketRadio System), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), CDMA (Code DivisionMultiple Access), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), IDEN (IntegratedDigital Enhanced Network) or various other third generation networkssuch as EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) or UMTS (UniversalMobile Telecommunications Systems).

The communications environment 300 also includes a wireless networkgateway 312 and one or more network provider systems 340. The wirelessnetwork gateway 312 provides translation and routing services betweenthe network provider system(s) 340 and the WAN 310, which facilitatescommunication between the mobile electronic devices 100 and otherdevices (not shown) connected, directly or indirectly, to the networkprovider system 340.

The WLAN 320 comprises a network which, in some example embodimentsconforms to IEEE 802.11 standards such as 802.11b and/or 802.11g;however, other communications protocols may also be used for the WLAN320. The WLAN 320 includes one or more wireless RF Access Points (AP)321 (one of which is shown), that collectively provide a WLAN coveragearea. The WLAN 320 may be operated by an enterprise (for example, abusiness or university) and the access points 321 are connected to anaccess point (AP) interface 322. The AP interface 322 providestranslation and routing services between the access points 321 and thenetwork provider system 340 to facilitate communication between themobile electronic device 100 and other devices (not shown) connecteddirectly or indirectly, to the network provider system 340. The APinterface 322 is implemented using a computer, for example, a serverrunning a suitable computer program or software.

According to one embodiment, other interfaces may be implemented using aphysical interface 330. The physical interface 330 may include anEthernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Firewire and/or infrared (IR)connection implemented to exchange information between the networkprovider system 340 and the communications device 100 when physicallyconnected therewith.

The network provider system 340 comprises a server which is locatedbehind a firewall (not shown). The network provider system 340 providesaccess for the communications device 100, through either the WAN 310,the WLAN 320, or one of the physical interfaces 330 to the devicesconnected, for example, through an enterprise network 350 (e.g. anintranet), to the network provider system 340, such as a network 350, anemail server 355, one or more application/content servers 360, a secondWAN 370 and/or an origin server 380.

According to one embodiment, a mobile data delivery module 345 providesHTTP connectivity between the wireless WAN 310 and the WLAN 320 and theother physical connections 330 and devices and/or networks connecteddirectly or indirectly to the network provider system 340. In oneembodiment, the mobile data delivery module 345 is implemented on acomputer, such as one housing the network provider system 340. Thenetwork 350, the email server 355, the application/content server 360,the WAN 370 and the origin server 380 are individually and/orcollectively in various combinations, a content source for the networkprovider system 340. It will be appreciated that the system shown inFIG. 3 comprises one possible communications network or configurationfor use with the mobile communication device 100.

The network 350 may comprise a local area network, an intranet, theInternet, a direct connection, or combinations thereof. According to oneembodiment, the network 350 comprises an intranet for a corporation orother type of organization.

In one example configuration, the email server 355 is connected to thenetwork 350. This server 355 is configured to direct or redirect emailmessages received over the WAN 370 and internally within the enterprisenetwork 350 to be addressed to the mobile electronic device 100.

The application/content server 360 may be connected to the network 350and also to another network, for example, the second WAN 370.

The second WAN 370 may further connect to other networks. In oneembodiment, the second WAN 370 comprises or is configured with theInternet, a direct connection, a LAN, a wireless communication link, orany combination thereof.

Content providers, such as the origin server 380, or Web servers, may beconnected to the WAN 370.

The Global Positioning System (GPS)

The communications environment 300 may also include a network ofgeosynchronous Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites 390. Theconcept of the Global Positioning System was originally proposed as aworldwide means of navigation for the US military. It originallyconsisted of a series of 24 satellites 390 in orbit at an altitude ofabout 11,000-12,000 miles above the earth's surface. As of September2007, there are 31 actively broadcasting satellites in the GPSconstellation. The additional satellites improve the precision of theGPS receiver calculations by providing redundant measurements.

This high orbit, which lies well above the earth's atmosphere, yields avery precise and stable orbit that may be very accurately measured by aground station. The orbit of each satellite is monitored twice daily byeach of five monitoring stations.

The position of each satellite 390 is known at any given time, includingminor adjustments for gravitational effects of other planetary bodies,such as the sun and moon. Typically, this information is stored in analmanac within each GPS receiver subsystem 260, subject to periodicadjustments through message signals transmitted by each of thesatellites 390.

Each satellite 390 makes a complete orbit every 12 hours. The originalconstellation was spread out in six orbital planes. Thus, at any givenpoint in time, from any point on earth, at least four or five satellites390 may lie above the horizon and thus remain in view. With theincreased number of satellites, the constellation was changed to anon-uniform arrangement to improve reliability and availability of thesystem upon a multiple satellite failure, relative to the former uniformsystem.

Each satellite 390 continuously transmits high-frequency, low powerradio signals comprising a coded message on two channels that containtiming information and data about the satellite's orbit. One of thechannels, denoted L1, is unencrypted and accessible by the generalpublic. It generally transmits at 1575.42 MHz. The other, denoted L2, isonly for use by the U.S. military's special receivers. These signals arereceived by antenna 261, amplified by amplifier 262 and forwarded to theGPS receiver 266.

In either case, the signal consists of an identical coded pseudo-randomtiming signal generated using a common reference clock signal and amessage signal that identifies the transmitting satellite 390 and fromwhich its position may be precisely determined, in conjunction with thealmanac.

Each GPS receiver, such as the one 266 implemented in the mobile device100 and shown in FIG. 2, makes use of the pseudo-random timing signalfrom typically at least four different satellites 390. The signals fromeach of these satellites 390 are fully and precisely synchronized witheach other and with a complementary signal generated by the receiver266.

The delay between the signal generated by the GPS receiver 266 and thosereceived by it from the satellites 390 may be used to derive the exactdistance between the corresponding satellite 390 and the receiver 266,by multiplying the delay by the speed of light.

Thus, with each received signal, the position of the GPS receiversubsystem 260 is constrained to lie on the surface of an imaginarysphere having a diameter equal to the distance between the subsystem 260and the transmitting satellite 390 and centered about the known positionof the transmitting satellite 390.

The position of the GPS receiver subsystem 260 may thus be obtained bytrilateration. With data from only three satellites 390, a geographicnon-elevation two-dimensional fix may be obtained, while athree-dimensional fix including elevation may be obtained with data froma minimum of four satellites 390. The most accurate positional fix willbe obtained from satellites 390 widely distributed across the sky and ineach case having an angular elevation of in excess of 20 degrees abovethe horizon.

In addition to a positional fix, accurate time of day and velocityinformation may be deduced from the signals transmitted by thesatellites 390.

Optimal reception is obtained when the GPS receiver subsystem 260 issituated outdoors and with good visibility to most of the sky.Significantly degraded performance may be obtained when the GPS receiveris situated indoors, underwater, in caves or in deep canyons where skyvisibility may be severely restricted. Typically, clouds or bad weatherdo not degrade receiver performance.

Clearly, the performance and accuracy of the GPS system and receiversubsystem 260 is dependent upon the accurate synchronization of thecoded timing signals transmitted by each satellite 390 and generated bythe receiver subsystem 260. Precision, accuracy and synchronicity of thetiming information as between the satellites 390 is maintained throughthe use of several atomic reference clocks in the satellite 390, whichare used to generate and synchronize the reference clock signals used toencode the coded timing signals to a common reference clock frequency.However, this is generally not feasible for the GPS receiver subsystem260.

Rather, the GPS receiver subsystem 260 makes use of a fixed,free-running clock signal having a frequency that is close to the commonreference clock signal frequency, to control its operation and to permitsynchronization with the GPS satellites 390.

Once it has received timing signals from 3 or 4 satellites 390, thereceiver subsystem 260 is able to calculate any error in its clockfrequency or phase by assuming that the distance measurements to eachsatellite 390 are proportionately inaccurate and reset its clock signalto compensate for and eliminate such error by supplying an appropriatefrequency offset.

This clock signal is conventionally generated by the GPS receiver 260from a rough oscillator signal provided as an input to the GPS receiver260. Typically, the rough oscillator signal is generated by a dedicatedtemperature-corrected crystal oscillator (TCXO).

As can be seen from FIG. 4, this has been dispensed with in the presentapplication having regard to the fact that in the communications device100, there may be a plurality of communications receivers, dependingupon its particular configuration, for example, a cellular radioreceiver in the WAN communications module 221, a WLAN receiver in theWLAN communications subsystem 222 and perhaps in the short-rangecommunications subsystem 223.

Those having ordinary skill in the relevant art will appreciate that byfar the majority of such communications receivers rely on a clockoscillator signal to properly receive and decode incoming message data.As shown in FIG. 4, the clock signal from any of such receivers may beappropriated with a concomitant economy in components, cost and circuitboard real estate.

Such economy arises from the replacement of the components for adedicated TCXO, including a clock oscillator circuit, a crystal andtemperature compensation components, as well as tuning and/or biasingcomponents, with an NCO 490, which effectively amounts to a few gatesand an adder. The cost of implementing an NCO is further reduced when itis recognized that conventional GPS receivers 266 typically already havean NCO for each channel and an additional NCO to strip the carrier fromthe signal being received from the GPS satellites. As a result, theaddition of a further NCO 490 will not add materially to the chip sizeof the GPS receiver 266. It has been estimated that the cost savings ona component only basis may approach $2.00 per device 100, most of whichis attributable to the cost of the crystal. Those having ordinary skillin this art will appreciate that the cost of a 3^(rd) party GPS receiver266 may approach the component cost of the crystal.

In addition to component cost considerations, the replacement of a clockoscillator circuit with an NCO 490 has other salutary benefits. Powerconsumption will be significantly reduced, always an importantconsideration for portable and/or handheld devices, with the eliminationof a further oscillator circuit that may draw between 1.0 and 1.5 mA at3 V Vcc on a continuous basis.

Additionally, startup latency may be reduced because the NCO 490 willgenerate a clock signal immediately (assuming that the VCTCXO 400 isalready in operation).

Moreover, with the elimination of a further oscillator circuit, theproblem of routing a further set of clock signals about the circuitboard to minimize interference will be obviated. By locating the NCO 490within the GPS receiver 266, there is only one clock signal on thecircuit board.

However, simply replacing the dedicated TCXO with an NCO circuit iscomplicated because of the significant likelihood of discontinuities inthe clock signal as a result of synchronizing “kicks”, such as from theAFC module 466 as discussed above. While such kicks are appropriate toforce synchronization of the WAN communications subsystem 221 with thebase station 311, were the frequency of the GPS clock signal 491 beingused by the GPS receiver to decode GPS messages from the GPS satellites390 to be correspondingly adjusted, signal lock may be lost, forcing theGPS receiver 266 back into a lengthy acquisition mode (on the order ofseveral minutes), which is undesirable.

However, the “kicks” to be issued by the AFC module 466 are determinateand known. Accordingly, it is possible to compensate for thediscontinuity occasioned by such kicks to the voltage control input ofthe VCTCXO 400 by providing a commensurate but opposite adjustment toNCO 490 along signal line 468 to maintain a relatively constantfrequency and phase continuous clock signal that may be used by the GPSreceiver 266 to receive messages from a GPS satellite 390.

A series of curves, formulae and/or tables may be developed to establishthe control word value to be supplied to the NCO 490 in order tocounteract a given voltage control adjustment to the VCTCXO 400, usingthe relationship between the control word sent out as a kick alongsignal line 467 and the voltage generated by the DAC 469, therelationship between the input control voltage of the VCTCXO 400 and theoutput frequency generated thereby and the relationship between thecontrol word value to be supplied to the NCO 490 and the resultingoutput frequency.

The present application can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombination thereof. Apparatus of the application can be implemented ina computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readablestorage device for execution by a programmable processor; and methodsactions can be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the application by operating oninput data and generating output. The application can be implementedadvantageously on a programmable system including at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. Each computer program can beimplemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programminglanguage, or in assembly or machine language, if desired; and in anycase, the language can be a compiled or interpreted language.

Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general andspecific microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receiveinstructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random accessmemory. Generally, a computer will include one or more mass storagedevices for storing data file; such devices include magnetic disks andcards, such as internal hard disks, and removable disks and cards;magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storage devices suitable fortangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include allforms of volatile and non-volatile memory, including by way of examplesemiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks; and buffer circuitssuch as latches and/or flip flops. Any of the foregoing can besupplemented by, or incorporated in ASICs (application-specificintegrated circuits), FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and/or DSPs(digital signal processors).

Examples of such types of computer are programmable processing systemscontained in the microprocessor 210 and the GPS receiver 266 suitablefor implementing or performing the apparatus or methods of theapplication. The system may comprise a processor, a random accessmemory, a hard drive controller, and/or an input/output controller,coupled by a processor bus.

It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in this art thatvarious modifications and variations may be made to the embodimentsdisclosed herein, consistent with the present application, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present application.

While preferred embodiments are disclosed, this is not intended to belimiting. Rather, the general principles set forth herein are consideredto be merely illustrative of the scope of the present application and itis to be further understood that numerous changes covering alternatives,modifications and equivalents may be made without straying from thescope of the present application, as defined by the appended claims.

Further, the foregoing description of one or more specific embodimentsdoes not limit the implementation of the invention to any particularcomputer programming language, operating system, system architecture ordevice architecture. Moreover, although some embodiments may includemobile devices, not all embodiments are limited to mobile devices;rather, various embodiments may be implemented within a variety ofcommunications devices or terminals, including handheld devices, mobiletelephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal computers,audio-visual terminals, televisions and other devices.

Moreover, all dimensions described herein are intended solely to beexemplary for purposes of illustrating certain embodiments and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention to any embodiments that maydepart from such dimensions as may be specified.

Certain terms are used throughout to refer to particular components. Asone skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to acomponent by different names. It is not intended to distinguish betweencomponents that differ in name but not in function.

The terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-endedfashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but notlimited to”. The terms “example” and “exemplary” are used simply toidentify instances for illustrative purposes and should not beinterpreted as limiting the scope of the invention to the statedinstances.

Also, the term “couple” in any form is intended to mean either a director indirect connection through other devices and connections.

Other embodiments consistent with the present application will becomeapparent from consideration of the specification and the practice of theapplication disclosed herein.

Accordingly, the specification and the embodiments disclosed therein areto be considered exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of theinvention being disclosed by the following claims.

1. A system for providing a clock signal to a navigation satellitereceiver in a device comprising a heterodyning communications receiver,the system comprising: a voltage controlled oscillator for generating anoutput clock signal having a frequency suitable for use by theheterodyning communications receiver; and a numerically controlledoscillator (NCO) for generating, from the output clock signal, anadjusted output clock signal having a frequency suitable for use by thenavigation satellite receiver.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein the frequency of the output clock signal is governed by avoltage control input to the voltage controlled oscillator received fromthe heterodyning communications receiver which may be adjusted so as tocompensate for a change in an operating environment of the heterodyningcommunications receiver.
 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein thefrequency of the adjusted output clock signal is governed by a controlvalue to the NCO from the heterodyning communications receiver so as tocounteract the compensation for the change in the operating environmentof the heterodyning communications receiver.
 4. The system according toclaim 3, wherein the control value is modulus added on successive clockcycles of the output clock signal to a previous phase value to reflect aphase that corresponds to the frequency of the adjusted output clocksignal.
 5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the control value issupplied by an automatic frequency control (AFC) module within theheterodyning communications receiver.
 6. The system according to claim2, wherein the voltage control input is supplied by an automaticfrequency control (AFC) module within the heterodyning communicationsreceiver.
 7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the AFC modulegenerates a voltage control word and provides it to a digital to analogconverter for conversion into the voltage control value.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 2, wherein the heterodyning communications receiveris for communications with a station and wherein the change in theoperating environment of the heterodyning communications receiver is achange in station.
 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the NCOcomprises: a. a control word register; b. a phase accumulator moduleadapted to update a previous value thereof to a current value thereof bymodulus adding a value contained in the control word register thereto onsuccessive cycles of the output clock signal so as to reflect a phasethat corresponds to the frequency of the adjusted output clock signal;c. a phase to amplitude converter to convert each current value to acorresponding amplitude value; and d. a digital to analog converter togenerate an adjusted analog clock signal from the amplitude values forforwarding to the navigation satellite receiver.
 10. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the heterodyning communications receiveris a wide area network (WAN) communications receiver.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 10, wherein the WAN communications receiver is acellular receiver.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein thecellular receiver operates in compliance with a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) standard.
 13. The system according to claim 1,wherein the heterodyning communications receiver is a wireless localarea network (WLAN) communications receiver.
 14. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the navigation satellite receiver operates in anavigation system selected from a group consisting of Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou Compass.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the voltage controlled oscillator is avoltage controlled temperature compensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO).16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the NCO is coupled to thenavigation satellite receiver through a phase locked loop (PLL).
 17. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the device is a mobile device. 18.The system according to claim 1, wherein the voltage controlledoscillator forms part of the heterodyning communications receiver.
 19. Amethod for providing a clock signal to a navigation satellite receiverin a device comprising a heterodyning communications receiver and avoltage controlled oscillator, the method comprising: a. the voltagecontrolled oscillator generating an output clock signal having afrequency suitable for use by the heterodyning communications receiver;and b. a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) generating, from theoutput clock signal, an adjusted output clock signal having a frequencysuitable for use by the navigation satellite receiver.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 19, wherein the voltage controlled oscillatorgenerates the output clock signal based on a voltage control inputreceived from the heterodyning communications receiver so as tocompensate for a change in an operating environment of the heterodyningcommunications receiver.
 21. The method according to claim 20, whereinthe NCO generates the adjusted output clock signal based on a controlvalue from the heterodyning communications receiver so as to counteractthe compensation for the change in the operating environment of theheterodyning communications receiver.
 22. A numerically controlledoscillator (NCO) coupled to a navigation satellite receiver in a devicecomprising a heterodyning communications receiver and a voltagecontrolled oscillator for generating an output clock signal having afrequency suitable for use by the heterodyning communications receiver,the NCO for generating, from the output clock signal, an adjusted outputclock signal having a frequency for use by the navigation satellitereceiver.